This invention relates to an apparatus for transporting sheets for use in, for instance, a postal matter handling apparatus for stamping postal matter with postage stamp provided thereon and sorting the stamped postal matter.
As a prior art apparatus for sheet transporting, there has been known the following postal matter rearranging/stamping apparatus. Postal matter, which is taken out one by one from a supply section is transported in an upright state along a transporter to reach a detector provided thereon. The detector checks for the object of detection, e.g., postage stamp, on the front or back side of postal matter. When stamp is detected to be on a lower portion of postal matter with respect to a reference surface of transport, that postal matter is supplied in the same state, i.e., without inversion, along non-inversion transporter to a stamper. When stamp is detected to be in the other, i.e., upper, portion of postal matter, that postal matter is supplied through an inversion transported to the stamper. The postal matter supplied to the stamper is stamped by the stamper before being collected in a stacker.
When jamming of sheets occurs on the transporter, the apparatus is stopped, and the jammed sheets are removed before resuming the operation of the apparatus. At the time of the resumption, it is necessary to reject all the postal matter remaining on the transporter into a reject stacker in order to prevent erroneous sorting of postal matter. If it is intended to effect sorting without rejecting the remaining postal matter into the stacker at this time, difficulties are encountered in the processing of shift data. In addition, there is considerable possibility of occurrence of erroneous sorting.